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Kyle Lowry not starting in the All-Star game is a crime

To those of you still reading this, I’m sorry. Yes, the site has basically gone and died, and is really just evolving into a venting space for me. I will try to post more, but it will only be when I have something important to say. With that being said, it’s time to start my annual rant on how Kyle Lowry has gone under the radar yet again.

All-Star voting is never going to be fair. Buckets, crossovers, blocked shots, and marketability are the factors that ultimately drive fan voting. Adding media and player voting is nice, however fan voting is typically a product of the media anyway. Anyway, for the Eastern conference, we have a starting line-up of Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, and LeBron James.

The results are fine, for the most part. All of the aforementioned are having fantastic seasons. However, after lurking through Twitter, Facebook comments and such, I was bothered at how little respect Kyle Lowry still receives. Irving continues to be grossly overrated. And while I’m happy for DeMar, and he’s having an unbelievable season, it is objective that Lowry deserves to be an All-Star starter over both of the guards that were voted in. Here’s my (very short) justification.

The man is averaging 22.2 PPG, 7.1 APG, and 4.9 RPG, and 1.7 SPG. Further, his TS% – which is widely considered as the most accurate shooting efficiency metric – comes in at 64.2% due to his ultra-elite 3 point shooting, trailing only Kevin Durant’s 65.9% for players who have shot 500+ FG this season. If that’s not enough – he’s first in the entire league in RPM wins, 5th in win-shares, 6th in Value over Replacement Players, and 2nd behind Chris Paul in real plus-minus, which evaluates a player’s impact on a team. Not to mention the fact that he’s the leader of the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference.

Lowry brings so many intangibles to the table. There are really only a handful of players that are as impactful on the court and vital to their team. I’m convinced, unfortunately, that he will never get the recognition he deserves from the masses. Which is fine. People can keep living under the impression that Kyrie Irving, DeRozan, Isaiah Thomas, John Wall, Kemba Walker and company are more valuable than Lowry.

There’s only one player in the East more dominant than Kyle Lowry, and his name is LeBron James. This is the best kept secret in the NBA.